{"id":31062,"date":"2015-10-29T08:10:43","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T15:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/a-perfect-gmat-score-isnt-everything-at-hbs\/"},"modified":"2015-10-29T08:10:43","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T15:10:43","slug":"a-perfect-gmat-score-isnt-everything-at-hbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/a-perfect-gmat-score-isnt-everything-at-hbs\/","title":{"rendered":"A Perfect GMAT Score Isn\u2019t Everything at HBS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Stories<\/a><\/p>\n

A perfect GMAT score is no guarantee at HBS (but it doesn\u2019t hurt).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Why do HBS applicants with perfect GMAT scores occasionally get \u201cdinged\u201d? Which MBA programs offer the best value? What\u2019s drawing business school graduates to Silicon Valley? Keep reading to get the answers to these questions and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

HBS wants more than a GMAT score<\/b>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Harvard Business School is one of America\u2019s premier MBA programs, so it\u2019s always interesting to see who does and doesn\u2019t gain admission, especially when the applicant seems like a shoe-in. While many of the school\u2019s candidates have stellar GMAT scores, HBS will \u201cding\u201d you for other reasons\u2014for example, a poorly written personal statement or an interviewee who can\u2019t coherently explain why they want to attend. Word to the wise: Put together the strongest application possible, paying attention to all the pieces. No doubt a perfect GMAT score will grab their attention, but business schools are looking for the total package. (<\/span>CNBC<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Down under and to the east<\/b>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Are you a Catherine Zeta-Jones fan? Or are you fanatical admirer of \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d trilogy? If so, and if you have an MBA, New Zealand may be calling your name. A just released report from QS Top MBA Jobs and Salaries finds that while no part of the world is hiring more MBAs than North America, no country better pays their MBAs than New Zealand. According to the study, Kiwi MBAs earn an average salary of $145K, with bonuses of $10K, on average. \u201cWe\u2019ve always found that the MBA is quite resilient during tougher times for a lot of the world,\u201d says the author of the report. \u201cIt\u2019s had it\u2019s problems, of course, but it remains quite tough.\u201d (<\/span>Poets & Quants<\/span><\/a>)<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Silicon Valley calling<\/b><\/h4>\n

The increasingly tech-driven economy is making Silicon Valley an attractive place for today\u2019s MBAs. Google, Facebook, and a number of exciting startups are all located in the Bay Area, as is top-ranked business school Stanford GSB. While startups may seem like unusuals object of MBAs\u2019 affections, considering that they spent so much time and money getting into and succeeding in an elite management program, they have their appeal. \u201cThere is no question that the rate of MBA students seeking internships in start-ups is increasing,\u201d explains Ted Zoller, director for the Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies at <\/span>UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School<\/span><\/a>. As Lara Berkowitz, executive director for the <\/span>Career Centre at London Business School<\/span><\/a>, says, start-ups offer business school graduates the chance to acquire responsibilities quicker than at larger companies. \u201cIt gives you more impact [and] better access to leadership.\u201d (<\/span>BusinessBecause<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Best-value MBA programs<\/b>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n

As you know, business school can be an incredibly valuable experience, but as in all things, there\u2019s a cost. You need to make sure you get what you are paying for. <\/span>GraduatePrograms.com<\/span><\/a>, an online graduate schools guide, is out with their \u201cBest Values,\u201d list based on interviews with over 13,000 MBA students and alumni about which schools gave them the best bang for the buck. Key question: Were they satisfied with their program and would they make the same decision again. Topping the list are <\/span>Dartmouth\u2019s Tuck School of Business<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>BYU\u2019s Marriott School<\/span><\/a>. (<\/span>BusinessInsider<\/span><\/i><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201coptional\u201d essay<\/b><\/h4>\n

Some business schools have what they call an \u201coptional essay\u201d as part of the admissions process\u2014but is it it really optional? Don\u2019t all \u201cserious\u201d applicants actually include it in their application? <\/span>Harvard Business School<\/span><\/a> recently <\/span>eliminated its optional essay<\/span><\/a> because every applicant ended up submitting one. \u00a0Now, it\u2019s mandatory at HBS, but it still begs the question when applying to other schools: \u201cWhen should you actually submit an optional essay?\u201d One MBA admissions expert has these two pieces of advices: 1) Complete all other pieces of the application before focusing on the optional essay. 2) Write the optional essay only if you have something meaningful to share. This could mean, for example, explaining academic weaknesses or explaining major employment gaps. (<\/span>U.S. News & World Report<\/span><\/i><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ready to kick your GMAT score into top shape? Challenge yourself to our <\/span><\/i>free 20-minute workout<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The post A Perfect GMAT Score Isn\u2019t Everything at HBS<\/a> appeared first on Business School Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A perfect GMAT score is no guarantee at HBS (but it doesn\u2019t hurt). Why do HBS applicants with perfect GMAT scores occasionally get \u201cdinged\u201d? Which MBA programs offer the best…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,558,243,940],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-kaplan-blog","category-blog","category-gmat-prep-gmat","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}